Monday, September 21, 2015

ARC Review: Cash by Eve Jagger

Cash is the second book in the Sexy Bastard Series from Eve Jagger. I somehow had no idea that this book was in a series when I agreed to read and review this, and for the most part I had no issues with the story even though I hadn't read the first book. I would say that this is capable of being a standalone story, though the characters are interconnected. Not only was this my first book in the series from Eve Jagger, but it was also the first thing that I have ever read by her. I would be interested to read more from her in the future though, especially more in this series.

Cash is knows as being one of the hottest bartenders in Atlanta. He doesn't do more than one night with women, and his manwhoring is far from a secret. Though their friends have warned both of them, Cash and his friend Savannah find themselves drawn to one another. Savannah is looking for more than just one night though, and knows that is far from what Cash can offer her. But when Cash and Savannah find themselves unable to fight the attraction between them, things quickly change and they are both beginning to think that one night with each other will never be enough. But Savannah has been hurt in the past and Cash has his own painful past he is still trying to deal with. Can these two find a way to work things out?

I liked Cash and Savannah. Savy was really smart and determined when it came to her work, and she was looking for someone to spend her life with. But she had been hurt in the past and had some trust issues because of that. She knew that Cash was a good guy, but she also knew how he tended to be when it came to women. I wish that she had talked to him a bit more about her feelings, but I think that Cash is the one that really needed help communicating here. Cash had a lot in his past that he didn't really share with anyone, and it was clear how much it affected him. I would have thought that he would have started to open up to Savy though, especially when they grew closer. I think that it was hard to ever really get behind their relationship when I just wasn't really seeing much progress. The fact that Cash wasn't sleeping with anyone else or even looking was a huge step, but as far as emotional connection and progress in the relationship went, there wasn't much happening. These two were hot together, and it was clear that they were trying to build something. I just wish that I had seen more there.

I also felt like this one ended with more of a happy for now, rather than an actual ending. As I mentioned before, there wasn't a lot of progress made. By the time the story is over, we are just barely seeing these two actually together and acknowledging that they are even together. They have just barely used the words boyfriend and girlfriend when this one ends, and they still hadn't even used the biggest word of all...love. I just felt like this story was missing something and I didn't really see these two ever really take that leap from casual but exclusive, to being solidly together. I think had I seen some more progress there, that I would have been more satisfied with how this story went. I also felt a few times like I had missed something and was a bit confused with the amount of secondary characters here. I knew who most of the core group was after a bit, but at times there would be a name or two dropped that I couldn't quite place and then they weren't really brought up again. I felt like there were a few too many that didn't really add anything here, and I would have preferred them not being brought up at all when they didn't really have a purpose since it was kind of confusing. That was the one thing that made this one capable of being a standalone, yet not exactly the best choice. I think had I known that this one was in a series before starting, that I would have read the previous book first. Not that this one was completely hard to understand or impossible to enjoy otherwise, but I did feel like I had missed something a few times and would recommend starting at the beginning and reading these in order. Cash is an enjoyable read, and I liked the characters. Despite the few issues I had, I think that it is worth a shot. I will read more from Eve Jagger in the future, and I am curious to read more in this series to get to know the rest of the characters better.